Temporary removal of a portion of the skull to allow the removal or debulking of a tumour, brain biopsy or drainage of a cerebral abscess. The skull portion is usually re-inserted at the end of surgery.

Surgical removal of a tumor from the pituitary gland. Pituitary tumours account for about 15% of all brain tumours, and they can produce hormones that affect the body or may affect the peripheral vision of a patient. It is usually an elective procedure. However, it is undertaken urgently if the patient's peripheral vision is affected. Surgery is carried out through the nose.

Intracranial bleeding (blood clots) can be extradural, subdural or intracerebral, and they can be life threatening conditions that require urgent removal.

Insertion of a drain from the cerebral ventricles in the brain running to the peritoneum in the abdomen. This allows drainage of cerebrospinal fluid (csf) to treat hydrocephalus, an excess of csf in the brain

Temporary removal of a portion of the skull to allow the removal or debulking of a tumour, brain biopsy or drainage of a cerebral abscess. The skull portion is usually re-inserted at the end of surgery. Carrying out the operation awake allows the intra-operative assessment of a patients neurological function, in particular their speech. Indications are epilepsy, excision of tumours close to the brain's speech centres. Awake means that patients are typically anaesthetised (being asleep) for the start of the operation, woken up during the critical period to allow for the assessment, then re-anaesthetised for the end of the operation. Occasionally the whole procedure is carried out with sedation and local anaesthesia instead of a general anaesthetic.